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伦敦自然历史博物馆与伦敦大学学院于2026年10月14日报告：一件收藏近百年的头骨化石被确认为新恐龙物种Invictibellatrix amberina，是欧洲首次发现的巨盗龙类成员。本文讨论被忽视的馆藏标本如何改写这类猎手的迁徙故事。

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A fossil kept in a museum drawer for nearly a century has been identified as a new dinosaur species. On October 14, 2026, the Natural History Museum and University College London reported that Invictibellatrix amberina is the first European member of megaraptorans — rare long-clawed hunters. What can an overlooked bone teach us about how these predators spread?

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一件在博物馆抽屉里存放了近一个世纪的化石，已被确认为新的恐龙物种。2026年10月14日，自然历史博物馆与伦敦大学学院报告称，Invictibellatrix amberina是欧洲首个被确认的巨盗龙类（megaraptorans）成员——这类猎手以长爪著称。一块被忽视的骨头，能告诉我们这些掠食者如何扩散吗？

The partial skull was found more than 100 years ago at the foot of a cliff on the Isle of Wight’s south-west coast by amateur collector Reginald Walter Tooley. The museum acquired it in 1924 among more than 1,000 of his specimens. Researchers said it sat unnoticed until a recent CT scan and comparison with other meat-eating dinosaurs showed unique skull features.

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这块不完整的头骨一百多年前由业余采集者雷金纳德·沃尔特·图利在怀特岛西南海岸悬崖脚下发现。博物馆于1924年将其连同他的一千多件标本一并入藏。研究人员说，它一直无人留意，直到近来的CT扫描并与其他肉食恐龙比对后，才显示出独特的头骨特征。

Invictibellatrix means “unconquered female warrior.” Based on close relatives, scientists estimate it was three to four metres long and just over 1.5 metres tall — roughly human height. It likely had feathers and hand claws of 10 to 20 centimetres. It probably ate small dinosaurs, lizards and mammals, filling a food-chain role closer to a hyena than to Tyrannosaurus rex.

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Invictibellatrix意为“不可征服的女战士”。根据近亲推估，它体长约三到四米，身高略高于1.5米——大致与人相当。它很可能有羽毛，手爪约10到20厘米。它大概捕食小型恐龙、蜥蜴和哺乳动物，在食物链中的角色更接近鬣狗，而非霸王龙。

Megaraptorans had slender heads but long, strong arms and giant curved claws. They chased prey with their arms rather than a crushing bite. Until this Royal Society Open Science paper, none had been confirmed in Europe. That gap mattered: one leading idea is that the group began in Asia, moved through Europe, and later became apex predators across Gondwana’s southern continents.

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巨盗龙类头骨纤细，却有长而有力的前肢和巨大弯曲的爪子。它们靠前肢追猎猎物，而不是用能压碎猎物的咬合力。在这篇发表于《皇家学会开放科学》的论文之前，欧洲尚未确认过该类群。这一空白很关键：一个主要假说认为，该类群起源于亚洲，经欧洲扩散，后来在冈瓦纳的南方大陆成为顶级掠食者。

Co-author Charlie Scherer said the find is the first clear proof that megaraptorans lived in Europe and may have reached Gondwana that way. Models using fossils, evolutionary trees, geography and climate suggest the group was widespread about 120 million years ago, then likely died out in northern Laurasia while growing huge in the south.

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共同作者查理·谢勒说，这一发现是巨盗龙类曾生活在欧洲、并可能由此到达冈瓦纳的首个明确证据。结合化石、进化树、地理与气候的模型显示，约1.2亿年前该群体分布广泛，随后很可能在北方劳亚大陆消失，却在南方长成巨兽。

Senior author Professor Paul Barrett stressed the value of historical museum collections: after more than 200 years of digging, the Isle of Wight still yields surprises, and many discoveries may wait in drawers. Lead author Dr Cassius Morrison called the neglect a mystery and said this hunter would have been more dangerous to humans than a giant T. rex, because people were the right size of prey.

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资深作者保罗·巴雷特教授强调历史馆藏的价值：怀特岛发掘两百多年后仍有惊喜，许多发现或许还躺在抽屉里。第一作者卡西乌斯·莫里森博士称长期被忽视是个谜，并指出这种猎手对人类可能比巨大的霸王龙更危险——因为人正好是合适的猎物体型。

A single braincase cannot answer every question, including why northern megaraptorans disappeared. Climate shifts, changing environments or competing tyrannosaurs remain open ideas. Yet the case shows why re-study of old specimens matters: one forgotten fossil can redraw a migration story — reminding readers that museum shelves are not closed books.

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仅一块脑颅化石无法回答所有问题，包括北方巨盗龙类为何消失。气候变迁、环境变化或与其他暴龙类竞争，仍是开放猜想。但这个例子说明，为何重审旧标本仍然重要：一块被遗忘的化石也能改写迁徙故事——提醒读者，博物馆的架子并不是合上的书。

新闻来源

• Natural History Museum · UK dinosaur fossil identified as new long-clawed predator (14 Oct 2026)
• UCL News · UK dinosaur fossil identified as new long-clawed predator (14 Oct 2026)
• BBC News · Isle of Wight fossil identified as new dinosaur species (14 Oct 2026)
• Royal Society Open Science · A new megaraptoran dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous Wessex Formation, UK (2026)

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